Mechanism for producing a manifolding assembly interlock



May 3, 96 B. P. ROBINSON, JR 2,935,002

MECHANISM FOR PRoDUcING A MANIFOLDING ASSEMBLY INTERLOCK Filed June 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATT RNEY May 3, 196@ B. P. ROBINSON, .JR 2,935,002

MECHANISM FOR FRODUCING A MANIFOLDING ASSEMBLY INTERLOCK Filed June 28, 1957 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR az'ley loinson, Jr.,

ATTOEIJEY IVIECHANISM FOR PRODUCING A MANIFOLDING ASSEMBLY INTERLDCK Bailey P. Robinson, Jr., Franklin, Tenn. Application .lune 28, 1957, Serial No. 668,642 1 claim. (ci. sts-'1.1)

This invention relates to manifolding assemblies comprising a plurality of superposed sheets or strips of record-receiving paper having carbon paper or similar transfer medium interposed therebetween, and is specially concerned with the production of assemblies of this character that are particularly adapted for use in electronic computers and analogous high speed machines.

Manifolding assemblies of this general type have long been in use for the production of multiple copies of commercial records and other data, with the characters comprising the information being manually inscribed or typed.

upon the uppermost paper sheet and transferred to the other record sheets by the interleaved transfer sheets,

which latter ordinarily are discarded when the several record sheets are separated. To maintain registration of any matter pre-printed on the record sheets, and prevent displacement and possible loss of the carbon transfer sheets prior to intentional separation of the sets, it has sometimes been the practice to attach the several sheets one to the other by means of spots or strips of adhesive, stitching, staplin'g, etc. While such modes of attachment accomplish their primary purpose they are not entirely satisfactory as regards their traverse through the recording machines, and they do not lend themselves too readily to separation of the sheets upon completion of entry of the data thereon. In an effort to meet these objections it therefore has been proposed to employ small indentations or partial perforations of the superposed sheets whereby portions thereof are displaced out of the normal plane of the sheets and form interlocks between the latter intended to prevent relative movement between the sheets during ordinary handling while at the same time permitting of easy separation of the components when the data entries are finished.

The heretofore proposed interlocks of this character have served their purpose reasonably well when employed at the relatively low speeds encountered in ordinary typewriters, billing machines andthe like, but with the development of electronic computers and similar relatively high speed apparatus they have been found not wholly satisfactory for use therewith. Accordingly, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved interlock for multiple-ply manifolding assemblies or sets which will give better results when such assemblies are passed through such high speed machines. The assemblies are however, equally well adapted for use in ordinary typewriters and other machines wherein the translation is at lower speeds. A further object of the invention is to provide a comparatively simple mechanism which may be readily attached to or incorporated in a conventional collating machine, whereby the interlocks may be conveniently and rapidly formed in the manfolding assemblies as they emerge from such machine. Y

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character just mentioned which may be readilyI adjusted to accommodate manifolding assemblies of various sizes, and also to vary the location of the interlocks y ice within the boundaries of the assemblies, as desired or as the occasion demands.

The invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings constituting a part of this specication, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional-elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic, of a portion of a conventional collating machine adapted to produce manifolding assemblies of the continuous web zig-zag type, and equipped with an interlock-forming mechanism constructed and arranged in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of said mechanism as seen from the plane indicated by the line 2 -2 in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional-elevational view of one of the pairs of interlock-forming mechanisms, as seen from the plane indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a sectional-elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, on the planes indicated by the line 4 4 in such ligure, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the die members4 manifolding assembly having interlocks in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of one of the improved interlocks;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view thereof, on the line 8-8 ofI Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 9--9 in Fig. 8, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring lirst to Figs. 6-9 inclusive, the manifolding assemblies 10 per se are of conventional form, comprising a plurality of superposed record sheets or plies of paper 11 having carbon or other character-transfer sheets 12 interposed between them. In many instances the assemblies are provided with a series of apertures 13 extending along one or both lateral edge portions and which are adapted to be engaged by the pins or projections of feed wheels in both the collating and the recording apparatus whereby the assemblies may be moved through such machines. Although the transfer media 12 may extend to the edges of the record plies 11, usually they stop somewhat short of the lines of perforations 13, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 9.

The assemblies usually are formed from continuous strips or webs, with the several components being brought into proper relation by collating machines which also transversely perforate, score or otherwise weaken the webs at appropriate intervals, as indicated at 14, whereby the manifolding units may be the more readily detached one from the other after passage through the recording apparatus.

rlo prevent separation and/or displacement of the several plies relative to one another (and more especially the carbon sheets 12) prior to or during passage through the recording machines, the plies are interlocked at one or more points within the boundaries of each unit, as indicated at 15. The present interlock, which has been found quite effective for retaining the assemblies in proper relation during passage through high speed recording machines, comprises multiple tongues 16 struck from and displaced out of the normal plane of the superposed plies 11, substantially as shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. As will be readily understood therefrom, the several tongues of each interlock are arranged in an integrated group which is composed of several series or sets A, B and C of transversely spaced tongues, which sets are substantially spaced one from the other longitudinally of the Patented May, 1976.0

plies. Each group 15 is of generally rectangular form and in practice its dimensions are on the order of onehalf inch by three-fourths of an inch. It will also be noted. that the longitudinally adjacent tonguesof.' the several series extend in opposite directions, with. each longitudinal pair being deflected inV divergentdirections from the' normal plane of the assembly.

The mechanism of the present invention for forming the interlocks just described is illustrated in Figs; 1-5 inclusive. In Figs. 1 and 2 it is shown as incorporated into a conventional collating machine D having side frame members 21 and spiked feed wheels 22 about which the assemblies are trained. The said mechanism comprises a pair of spaced parallel shafts 23 and 24 which extend between and are suitably journaled in the frame members 21. The shaft 24 is positively driven in timed relationV to the feed wheels122i and other instrumentalities of the collating machine by means of a chain-and-sprocket drive 25, and the two shafts are interconnected by gears 26 and 27 whereby the shaft 23 is rotated in synchronism with but in the opposite direction to the shaft 24. Y

The shafts 23 and 24 have splined to them an axially spaced pair of interlock-forming die mechanisms E and F through which the collated webs 11 and 12 are passed, and since such mechanisms are substantial duplicates, the construction of only the mechanism E has been shown in. detail inFigs. 3 and 4, andwill be described. As will he readily understood therefrom, the elements ofr this mechanism which are carried by the shaft 23 comprise a disk-like member 30 having a circumferential ange 31 at one end thereof, and a hub 32 provided with a set screw 33 by means of which the member may be secured to the shaft in any axial position to which it may be adjusted thereon. The inward face 34 of the" flange 31 is provided with a circumferential recess 3S, and seated upon the periphery of the disk 30 are one or more die elements 36, the opposite end faces of which are provided with lugs or projections 37, one of which engages they flange recess 35, as shown in Fig. 4. The die blocks 36 are maintained in position on the disk 30 by means of arcuate retaining plates 38 the inward faces 39 of which abut the other end faces of said die blocks and are provided with arcuate recesses 40 similar to the flange recess 35 and receiving the projections 37 of such other die end faces. The retaining plates 38 are readily detachably secured to the disk member 30 by bolts 41, whereby the die elements 36 may be firmly clamped between the flange 31 and retaining members 38, as will be readily understood from the drawings.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the die blocks 36 are provided with a plurality of spaced parallel teeth 42 extending y radially outward therefrom, each of which is shaped to provided points A', B and C' that are adapted to penetrate the plies of the manifolding assemblies and produceV the tongues 16 of the respective series A, B and C thereof constituting the interlock 1S shown in Fig. 7. In some instances the teeth 42 of the die members may be formed without `the intermediate points B', as indicated at 42' in Fig. 1, whereby the B series of tongues will be omitted from the interlock and only the end series A and C employed therein.

Mounted upon the shaft 24 is a drum member 45 provided with a set screw 46 by means of which it may be secured against axial movement on said shaft, in complemental relation to the disk member 30 carried by the shaft 23. The peripheral face of said drum is provided with a plurality of continuous circumferential grooves 47 which are alined with the several teeth 42 of the die blocks 36, whereby to receive the points A', B', C' thereof and the tongues 16 formed thereby, when the blocks mate with the drum in the course of. their rotation. Thus,

as will be readily understood from Figs. 3 and 4, the drum serves as a female die member.

As previously indicated, one or more die blocks 36 may be mounted upon the disk member 31B of each of the interlock-forming mechanisms E and F, depending upon the size of the manifolding units being produced and/or the number of interlocksit is desired to provide in each.V From the above detailed description of themounting of said die blocks it will be readily apparent that each such block may be clampingly held by its retaining member 3S in any desired circumferential position within the arcuate limits of the retaining member (as indicated in broken lines at the upper right of Fig. 3), and thus the said blocks may be equidistantly or non-uniformly circumferentially spaced from one another as occasion may require. If more than the two die blocks shown in Fig. 3 be needed, one or more additional retaining members 38 maybe employed, circumferentially interposed between the two illustrated; and in fact, each of ther retaining membersV may accommodate at least two blocks if necessary. The circumferential grooves 47 of the drum member 45 will accommodate any number of die blocks irrespective of their arcuate spacing, without any adjustment of said drum other than to. see that its grooves are properly alined with the block teeth 42.

Adjustment of either or bothV of the mechanisms E and F axially of the shafts 23 and 24 not only enables the handling of manifolding assemblies of different widths but also permits of transverse variation of the location of the interlocks in the units. This, coupled with the longitudinal variations which may be secured by circumferential adjustments of the die blocks on their carrying disks 30, enables the interlocks to be formed at any point or points desired within the boundaries'of the manifolding units.

What is claimed is:

Mechanism for interlocking the components of multiple-ply manifolding assemblies, comprising a pair of spaced parallel rotatable shafts; means for rotating said shafts in opposite directions; a die-supporting member axially adjustably splined to one of said shafts for rotation therewith; a die element circumferentially adjustably carried by said supporting member and having assemblypenetrating tongue-forming portions extending outwardly beyond the periphery of the latter, said penetratlng portions being arranged in a small integrated rectangular' group consistingof a plurality of axially spaced rows each comprising a plurality of oppositely facing circumferentially spaced ply-penetrating points; and a drum member axially adjustably splined to the other of said shafts for transverse alinement with the die-supporting member, the periphery of said drum member being provided with continuous circumferential grooves arranged to coact with the assembly-penetratingY portions of said die element in any circumferentially adjusted position of the latter, whereby to produce bodily displaced tongues in the assembly material which interlock the several pliesr of manifolding assemblies passed between said die-supporting and drum members.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 804,799 Edison Nov. 14, 19u05 1,018,155 Bengough Feb. 20, 1912 1,931,468 Bergholtz Oct. 17, 1933 1,954,965 Thode Apr. 17, 1934 1,960,059 Masony May 22, 1934 2,180,162 Milmoe et al. Nov. 14, 1939 2,212,174 Brenn Aug. 20, 1940 2,352,757 Barker July 4, 1944 2,485,102()Vv Staude Oct. 18, 1949 

